Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-09
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Mary Butler (FF), Waterford

Amendment No. 13 inserts a definition of guardian ad litem which mirrors the definition in the Child Care Act 1991. That Act and guardians ad litem in general are the responsibility of the Minister for children. I will not speak to these matters where they do not relate to the mental health Bill.
Guardians ad litem are appointed to children during court proceedings and the role of the guardian is to represent the voice of the child in court. The primary role of a guardian ad litem is to ascertain and communicate a child's views to the court and to make recommendations in the child's best interests. Guardians ad litem are already appointed to children who are subject to involuntary detention proceedings under section 25 of the Mental Health Act 2001. The amendments in this Bill do not change this policy; instead, they reinforce it - working in conjunction with the Department of children - and make the entitlement more explicit.
The Department of Children, Disability and Equality is reforming how the guardian ad litem system operates. This was the subject of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2022. The amendments in the Bill will ensure that it is properly aligned with the 2022 Act and that the guardian ad litem system can continue to be accessed by children in mental health court proceedings. The insertion of the definition of "guardian ad litem " and the subsequent amendments ensure that guardians ad litem will continue to be appointed in certain proceedings, including involuntary admission court proceedings covered by the Bill.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:26+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-09